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Monday, December 19, 2011

Unexpected pleasures!

Good Monday morning to one and all! We had a busy weekend but fun. Friday we took a trip with the nephews to the San Francisco Zoo. I have photos of all sorts of critters but to my delight there were tons of plants blooming. I forget sometimes that San Francisco climate is so temperate especially this time of year. So when I am looking at this desolate garden at home..

San Francisco is a haven of blooms.

Wish I could name all the plants I photographed but I am rather ignorant of many of these plants. Some I do know but very few. To get to the zoo we drove thru a lovely old neighborhood with interesting homes perched on the hillside facing the ocean and there were an abundance of these bushes trained into trees just covered with these purple blossoms. A real visual treat.

See how bright and sunny it was Friday, it got into the upper 50’s and lower 60’s with little or no breeze. Perfect!

The landscaping all throughout the zoo was a feast for my eyes, waterfall and fountains tucked into all sorts of places.

Bursts of color around every corner.

I love Fuchsias..I can barely keep them alive here and this one was flourishing beside the building housing tropical critters.

They had some interesting rockeries filled with succulents. I have just in the past few years become interested in growing succulents, there is such an interesting variety and the fun planters you can make with them is boundless.

I have always loved Bougainvillea but have never lived where it would stay alive thru the winters.

I thought this little Iris type was eye catching.

I really wish they would label the plants.

There were some that were the most interesting shapes, no blooms were necessary for them to stand out.

These bushes were taller than I and covered with these delicate brightly colored blooms.

A bright orange..

The too bright sun blanched out the vibrancy of the orange but you get the idea.

And last the Statice outside the gate as we headed for the parking lot.

It was such a lovely day and we enjoyed it very much. Next weekend we are planning a little trip down again to go to the Conservatory of Flowers and the CA Academy of Sciences. Two places we have wanted to visit in a long time and the weather is supposed to be just as wonderful as this past weekend so it should be a fabulous trip. I will bore you with all the photos in coming posts.

And I will share some animal shots of the zoo next time. Now I must go paint some signs.

I like gardens of all kinds,my little house in the woods,my painting cottage, chickens (also known around here as "The Ladies") and building things. I paint flowers as well as grow them. Stop in anytime to see what I have been up to.